*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of steal

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *stelaną Proto-West Germanic *stelan Old English stelan Middle English stelen English steal Inherited from Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan, from Proto-West Germanic *stelan, f

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

The act of stealing. · A piece of merchandise available at a very low, attractive price; the act of buying it. · A situation in which a defensive player actively takes possession of the ball or puck from the opponent's team. · A stolen base.

verb

To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it. · To appropriate without giving credit or acknowledgement. · To get or effect surreptitiously or artfully. · To acquire at a low price.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *stelaną Proto-West Germanic *stelan Old English stelan Middle English stelen English steal Inherited from Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan, from Proto-West Germanic *stelan, from Proto-Germanic *stelaną. Cognate with Bavarian stöhn (“to steal”), Dutch stelen (“to steal”), German and Low German stehlen (“to steal”), Luxembourgish stielen (“to steal”), Danish stjæle (“to steal”), Faroese stjala (“to steal”), Icelandic stela (“to steal”), Norwegian Bokmål stjele (“to steal”), Norwegian Nynorsk stela, stele (“to steal”), Swedish stjäla (“to steal”), Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (stilan, “to steal”). For the meaning development compare with Russian красть (krastʹ, “to steal”) and Russian кра́сться (krástʹsja, “to stalk, to prowl, to slink”). etymology notes Proposed etymologies beyond Germanic are numerous and include * Proto-Indo-European *ster-: compare Welsh herw (“theft, raid”), Ancient Greek στερέω (steréō, “to deprive of”) * Proto-Indo-European *stel(H)- (“to stretch”): compare Albanian pë/mbështjell (“to confuse, mess up, mix, wrap up”), Old Church Slavonic стєлѭ (steljǫ, “I spread out (bed, roof)”), Ancient Greek τηλία (tēlía, “playing table”) * Proto-Indo-European *tsel- (“to sneak”): compare Sanskrit त्सरति (tsárati, “creep, sneak up on”) and other forms under Pokorny 5. *sel- "schleichen, kriechen"

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 10 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:stelen<id:to steal>",
        "id": "to steal",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *stelaną\nProto-West Germanic *stelan\nOld English stelan\nMiddle English stelen\nEnglish steal\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*stelan\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"stelan\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"stelen\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"steal\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"to steal\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"steal\" id=\"English:_to_steal\">\nInherited from Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan, from Proto-West Germanic *stelan, from Proto-Germanic *stelaną."
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bar",
        "2": "stöhn",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to steal"
      },
      "expansion": "Bavarian stöhn (“to steal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "stelen",
        "t": "to steal"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch stelen (“to steal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de,nds",
        "2": "stehlen",
        "t": "to steal"
      },
      "expansion": "German and Low German stehlen (“to steal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "stielen",
        "t": "to steal"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish stielen (“to steal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "stjæle",
        "t": "to steal"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish stjæle (“to steal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "stjala",
        "t": "to steal"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese stjala (“to steal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "stela",
        "t": "to steal"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic stela (“to steal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "stjele",
        "t": "to steal"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål stjele (“to steal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "stela"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk stela"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "stjäla",
        "t": "to steal"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish stjäla (“to steal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽",
        "t": "to steal"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (stilan, “to steal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "noncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "красть",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to steal"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian красть (krastʹ, “to steal”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "noncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "кра́сться",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to stalk, to prowl, to slink"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian кра́сться (krástʹsja, “to stalk, to prowl, to slink”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "etymology notes"
      },
      "expansion": "etymology notes"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ster-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *ster-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cy",
        "2": "herw",
        "3": "",
        "4": "theft, raid"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh herw (“theft, raid”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "στερέω",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to deprive of"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek στερέω (steréō, “to deprive of”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*stel(H)-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to stretch"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *stel(H)- (“to stretch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "cu",
        "2": "стєлѭ",
        "3": "",
        "4": "I spread out (bed, roof)"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Church Slavonic стєлѭ (steljǫ, “I spread out (bed, roof)”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "τηλία",
        "3": "",
        "4": "playing table"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek τηλία (tēlía, “playing table”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*tsel-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to sneak"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *tsel- (“to sneak”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "त्सरति",
        "3": "",
        "4": "creep, sneak up on",
        "tr": "tsárati"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit त्सरति (tsárati, “creep, sneak up on”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:stelen<id:to steal>",
        "id": "to steal",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "++"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *stelaną\nProto-West Germanic *stelan\nOld English stelan\nMiddle English stelen\nEnglish steal\nInherited from Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan, from Proto-West Germanic *stelan, from Proto-Germanic *stelaną."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*stelaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/stelaną#Proto-Germanic:_to_steal"
    ],
    [
      "*stelan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/stelan#Proto-West_Germanic:_to_steal"
    ],
    [
      "stelan",
      "stelan#Old_English:_to_steal"
    ],
    [
      "stelen",
      "stelen#Middle_English:_to_steal"
    ],
    [
      "stelen",
      "stelen#Middle_English:_to_steal"
    ],
    [
      "stelan",
      "stelan#Old_English:_to_steal"
    ],
    [
      "*stelan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/stelan#Proto-West_Germanic:_to_steal"
    ],
    [
      "*stelaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/stelaną#Proto-Germanic:_to_steal"
    ],
    [
      "stöhn",
      "stöhn#Bavarian"
    ],
    [
      "stelen",
      "stelen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "German",
      "stehlen#German"
    ],
    [
      "stehlen",
      "stehlen#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "stielen",
      "stielen#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "stjæle",
      "stjæle#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "stjala",
      "stjala#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "stela",
      "stela#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "stjele",
      "stjele#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "stela",
      "stela#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "stele",
      "stele#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
    [
      "stjäla",
      "stjäla#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽",
      "𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "красть",
      "красть#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "кра́сться",
      "красться#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "*ster-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ster-"
    ],
    [
      "herw",
      "herw#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "στερέω",
      "στερέω#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "*stel(H)-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/stel(H)-"
    ],
    [
      "shtjell",
      "shtjell#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "стєлѭ",
      "стєлѭ#Old_Church_Slavonic"
    ],
    [
      "τηλία",
      "τηλία#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "*tsel-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/tsel-"
    ],
    [
      "त्सरति",
      "त्सरति#Sanskrit"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The act of stealing.",
        "A piece of merchandise available at a very low, attractive price; the act of buying it.",
        "A situation in which a defensive player actively takes possession of the ball or puck from the opponent's team.",
        "A stolen base."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively",
        "slang"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 462501
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To take illegally, or without the owner's permission, something owned by someone else without intending to return it.",
        "To appropriate without giving credit or acknowledgement.",
        "To get or effect surreptitiously or artfully.",
        "To acquire at a low price."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "usually",
        "figuratively",
        "informal"
      ],
      "recordId": "6a730218643e52398f8be97b768bb30fcf968deb0010c0fa45274d33e86039d2",
      "rawRecordSha256": "fffffd2658d045b3e93edbf7b73929c98b2215ef4c9f9ec064094eaa4856102f",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 462500
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 10,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

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Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c3RlYWw